Home Again Program

Home Again Apartment Setups

What it is.

The Home Again Project is an opportunity for volunteer groups from schools, businesses, religious organizations, etc. to work with Journey's End in an apartment set up for a recently arrived refugee family. Refugee families arrive with little to no resources for establishing homes during their first few months of resettlement. Journey's End relies heavily on donations from the community to provide these families with essential home furnishings, such as tables, lighting, and other items. Journey's End has found that when a committed group of volunteers work on a set up project, barren apartments are transformed into cozy homes for newly arrived refugee families. After long and arduous journeys to the United States, a warm and cozy apartment brings a sense of security to families that have lost and left so much.

What you do.

Volunteer groups that choose to do a Home Again setup are given a list of essential and extra items needed for setting up an apartment and one to two months to gather items. On a day agreed upon by Journey's End and the volunteer group, a representative from Journey's End will meet with the group at the apartment to clean and set up. This process usually takes to four to five hours. It should be noted that due to the unpredictable nature of refugee arrivals, the location of the apartment for the family we are preparing for may change.

Home Again set ups are a great chance to build community, welcome and learn about Buffalo's newest residents, and to give back in a way that will benefit both the arriving family and Buffalo for years to come.

If you are interested in participating in a Home Again set up, please contact Liz Ward (lward@jersbuffalo.org).